626 



NON-INTERVENTION AMONG NATIONS, THE PRINCIPLE OF. 



al right (law) " by resting it upon the princi- 

 ple of nationality.* Viewing this sentiment as 

 true and just, and that every people has the 

 right to form a state by redeeming itself from 

 a foreign servitude, the question of interven- 

 tion is presented. That is, the question 

 whether or not it is lawful to intervene in favor 

 of a people that rebels against foreign oppres- 

 sion and claims the right of constituting itself 

 into an autonomous and national state. The 

 Italian school, professing the principle of non- 

 intervention in an absolute manner, acknowl- 

 edges the justice and lawfulness of intervention 

 in this case. In explanation, it is said that 

 " there is not true intervention in the case ; 

 the question involved is not an internal one, 

 but international. In fact, where there is not 

 a constituent moral unity and a sameness of 

 native country, there are virtually many states, 

 and not one state; and therefore, if foreign 

 armies rush in to help a people which^ sword in 

 hand is justly demanding that autonomy of 

 which it has been robbed, they do not properly 

 make an act of intervention, because they do 

 not use violence to meddle in the internal affairs 

 of an identified political community, but to de- 

 fend the cause of one nation against its exter- 

 nal adversaries, and to give brotherly succor to 

 a people that is unable to constitute itself into 

 a national state." 



INTERVENTION BY TREATY. Again, it is asked 

 if foreign intervention in the affairs of a state 

 is not just and lawful, when it takes place by 

 virtue of a treaty or convention ? This is ac- 

 knowledged to be right by the greatest number 

 of writers.t In answer to the question, how- 

 ever, it is said by the Italian writers that 

 treaties and conventions are contracts made 

 between state and state, and are therefore sub- 

 ject to the same principles which regulate con- 

 tracts. Now, the civil law declares null all con- 

 tracts made against morality and against the 

 laws. So treaties are null before the laws and 

 morality, which contain a violation of morality 

 and of justice ; which impair the essential rights 

 of states, one of which is their independence. 

 Therefore those which allow foreign interven- 

 tion are null. If they are made by the gen- 

 eral will, it is sufficient to say that no nation 

 has the power to abdicate its own autonomy ; 

 if the treaties are made by the sovereign, they 

 are likewise null, because he, by constitutional 

 right, has not the power to make treaties with- 

 out the approbation of Parliament. If the 

 sovereign is an absolute prince, he has not the 

 power to make personal treaties in his favor 

 and against the people whose chief and repre- 

 sentative he is. Those treaties whereby the 

 independence of a small and feeble state is 

 guaranteed on the part of all the nations of 

 Europe against the avidity of a powerful neigh- 



* Prelections " On Nationality as the Foundation of the Eight 

 (law) of Nations," published by Professor Pierantoni. 



f Vattel, Book II, chap, xii, 196; Kluber's "Laws of 

 Nations," 45-S8 ; Marten's " Summary of the Laws of 

 Nations," 73 ; Wheaton, chap, i ; Heffter, 46 ; Ahren's 

 " The Philosophy of Eight," 138. 



bor, are not to be condemned. For, in such 

 case, there is no intermeddling in internal af- 

 fairs, nor in the form of government. 



INTERVENTION AGAINST MERCENARY TROOPS. 

 Again, it is asked, If a government uses for- 

 eign mercenary troops as a means of support 

 to act despotically against its people, whether 

 foreign intervention in favor of the people and 

 against the government is lawful ? It has been 

 shown that the intervention of foreign troops 

 in favor of a sovereign against a people is un- 

 just ; therefore a foreign state may rightly 

 step in and defend this people for the purpose 

 of repelling the external force brought in con- 

 trary to the law of nations. So, likewise, the 

 intervention of a state in favor of a people that 

 rebels against the sovereign who is protected 

 by mercenary troops, is just, because it does 

 not aim at violating the autonomy and inde- 

 pendence of the state. 



UNION OF STATES. Again, it is asked, if one 

 state can unite itself with another, and out of 

 two independent states constitute one state ; 

 and if in this case a foreign state may impede 

 the annexation. The reply is, that " when 

 there are many states politically independent 

 of each other, yet belonging to one and the 

 same nation, and they are willing to unite to- 

 gether for the purpose of constituting them- 

 selves into one national state, it is evident that 

 they not only have the full right to do so, but 

 by doing it they also integrate their own per- 

 sonality, and supply a natural want of the peo- 

 ples to form an individual total, called national 

 state." Therefore it is said that nothing could 

 be more unjust than that a foreign govern- 

 ment should impede the fusion of several states 

 into one national unity, because every nation 

 has the innate right of constituting itself into 

 one single state. It is also declared to be an 

 example of the scrupulous observance of the 

 principle of non-intervention, when the con- 

 stitution of nationality is involved which was 

 given in 1860, when, by virtue of this principle, 

 proclaimed by Napoleon III and by the Gov- 

 ernment of England, Italy was enabled to con- 

 stitute its national unity by the annexations to 

 Piedmont, under the dynasty of Savoy, of the 

 other independent Italian states. Therefore 

 it is concluded that when the principle of na- 

 tionality is involved, all annexations are just 

 and lawful, and the principle of non-interven- 

 tion must be strictly observed. 



ANNEXATIONS. Annexations based on na- 

 tionality have of late prevailed extensively in 

 Europe. The basis of the present kingdom of 

 Italy was unity of race, which was declared to 

 be confirmed by popular sentiment, as indi- 

 cated by universal suffrage. This principle 

 was the plea for the incorporation with Sar- 

 dinia, in 1860-'61, of Tuscany, Parma, and 

 Modena, the greater part of the Pontifical 

 states, and also of the late kingdom of the 

 Two Sicilies. The conquest of Lombardy from 

 Austria, and its cession to Sardinia by France, 

 had previously been made. On the same 



